Chapter 267: Dragon-Tiger Platform

Wuyi District.

Besides having many martial arts halls, this place also has many fighting rings.

Precisely because this district has the highest number of martial arts halls in the entire city, many major boxing matches are held here.

In Wuyi District, there is a Dragon-Tiger Street, and in the very center of the street's intersection stands a massive circular platform over ten meters in diameter.

The circular platform is built from hard Xuanwu stone, stands over a meter high, and is carved with a dragon and a fierce tiger, the dragon and tiger confronting each other.

This circular platform is called the Dragon-Tiger Platform, and the street is named after this platform.

In the past, the finals of all major events in Wuyi District were held here, and the Martial Arts Hall Association's ranking tournament has also been held here many times.

Therefore, the "specifications" of the Dragon-Tiger Platform are actually very high; ordinary boxing matches are not qualified to be held on it.

Today, an unprecedented martial arts match is about to begin on the Dragon-Tiger Platform!

People who received the news quickly gathered here, and the restaurants around the Dragon-Tiger Platform were soon packed, with every window seat booked.

Dragon-Tiger Street was also quickly crowded with people, who skillfully took out small stools or simply sat directly on the ground.

"What match is it today?"

"I heard it's a student from the Martial Arts University fighting someone from the Chu family?"

"What exactly is going on?"

"They say it's at the Zhang residence today."

In the crowd, many people were discussing the upcoming match, as well as the causes and consequences of this matter.

The reason the news spread so quickly, and the "inside story" was so clear, was that the Zhang family was intentionally building momentum, making the whole city aware of this matter.

Li Fei's idea was very clear: since he wanted to restore the Zhang family's prestige, he naturally had to make the matter as big as possible!

Therefore, it was also his request to hold the match on the Dragon-Tiger Platform.

Of course, there were people within the Zhang family who opposed it, feeling that this way, the Zhang family would have no way out. Once Li Fei lost, in the eyes of outsiders, the Zhang family's last glimmer of hope would be extinguished.

But in the end, these dissenting voices were useless, because the person making the decision was Li Fei, and the only person who could stop him, Shangguan Xiao, expressed her full support for the matter.

In the end, the Zhang family had to build momentum for this, showing a stance of fully supporting Li Fei.

Otherwise, would they be stupid enough to push away this peerless genius who was publicly supporting their own family?

As for the Chu family, out of the same considerations as Li Fei, Chu Bo was also happy to see this matter blown out of proportion.

Moreover, under such circumstances, if Li Fei lost, unless he didn't intend to care about his reputation at all in the future, he would have no choice but to honestly serve as a retainer for the Chu family.

This battle would not only drive the Zhang family to ruin but also recruit a peerless genius for the family, greatly enhancing the Chu family's prestige; perhaps today would be the beginning of the Chu family becoming one of the three new great aristocratic families of Datong Prefecture!

At 12: 0 noon, many dignitaries within the prefecture city and representatives of major factions arrived at Dragon-Tiger Street one after another, walked into the restaurants around the Dragon-Tiger Platform, and sat in their pre-booked seats, preparing to watch the battle.

At this time, the five-meter radius around the Dragon-Tiger Platform had been cleared, and people from the Martial Arts Hall Association formed a circle on the perimeter to maintain order.

A moment later, people walked out from the two restaurants closest to the Dragon-Tiger Platform respectively.

One of them was Li Fei, and the other was Chu Yu.

In the end, Chu Bo still agreed to let Chu Yu go first.

For the Chu family, the most perfect result would be for Chu Yu to defeat Li Fei in the first match, and he indeed possessed such a possibility.

Chu Yu is 24 years old this year and is already at the late stage of Qi Transformation; a martial artist practicing strength at this age is worthy of being called a genius.

In the martial arts world, age is a very important standard of judgment because implants also age.

From the moment they enter the human body and are activated, lower-three-grade implants maintain a "growth period" of at most about thirty years, after which they enter a "senescence period."

During the senescence period, the implant's power will gradually weaken. Superhuman abilities, innate Qi, and strength will all become weaker and weaker; implants in this state cannot construct a martial arts foundation.

Therefore, there has always been a saying in the martial arts world—if you don't achieve a Dao foundation before fifty, you will have no hope for life!

A person can only incorporate an implant and step into the martial arts path when the body is initially grown at sixteen or seventeen; after that, there is only about thirty years to break through realms step by step. If one waits until fifty, the implant in the body has already entered the "senescence period," making it almost impossible to break through to the Dao Foundation realm.

After incorporating a new implant, a martial artist at the Dao Foundation realm will not only have their body strengthened in a new round, but the implant in the body will also receive new stimulation, thereby delaying the arrival of the "senescence period." Once a new implant is incorporated, it will receive stimulation again, continuing to delay the "senescence period."

As long as one can incorporate a new implant before the "senescence period" arrives, one can continue to retain the hope of breaking through, until the martial arts foundation is cultivated, the five elements circulate, and the cycle is endless; then the implant will no longer have a "senescence period."

Therefore, some older Dao Foundation realm powerhouses still retain the possibility of cultivating a martial arts foundation and becoming a martial arts master, such as Chu Bo and Shangguan Xiao.

But there are also some older Dao Foundation realm powerhouses whose "path ahead is cut off" because the implants in their bodies have already entered the "senescence period," completely losing the possibility of cultivating a martial arts foundation.

So for martial artists, age is actually very important.

Chu Yu broke through to the late stage of Qi Transformation at 24, so he has more than twenty years to break through to the Dao Foundation realm and more time to construct a martial arts foundation.

As for peerless geniuses like Wang Fengqing and Li Fei, their time is even more abundant.

For example, Wang Fengqing is only 22 years old this year and has already stepped into the Dao Foundation realm; she may even have more than 60 years to slowly construct her martial arts foundation, several times more time than most people!

And Li Fei might step into the Dao Foundation realm even earlier than her, so when he and Chu Yu both appeared, almost everyone's eyes were on Li Fei.

Chu Yu, this young man who was also hailed as a genius, appeared eclipsed.

"They're here, they're here!"

"Who is Li Fei?"

"The one wearing the blue outer robe, that's the Martial Arts University uniform."

"."

As the two walked out of the restaurants, the surrounding people immediately began to discuss.

Li Fei and Chu Yu walked from the pre-reserved passage to the front of the Dragon-Tiger Platform.

Because it was impossible to truly fight to the death, the match rules followed the rules of conventional boxing matches:

Falling off the ring counts as a loss.

Voluntarily admitting defeat counts as a loss.

Falling to the ground and being unable to get up counts as a loss.

The two walked to the front of the Dragon-Tiger Platform and then took a step forward to leap onto the ring, which was over a meter high.

Chu Yu had been paying attention to Li Fei's movements, deliberately taking the lead to jump onto the ring first, and then exploded with all his might to rush toward Li Fei!

Swish—

A footprint was stamped into the Xuanwu stone underfoot, and Chu Yu left a trail of afterimages on the ring.

This most outstanding genius of the Chu family, carefully cultivated by Chu Bo, made his move without any bells and whistles, nor did he use any profound martial arts techniques; it was just one word—fast!

So fast that the sound of his soles rubbing against the Xuanwu stone was completely drowned out by the sound of his body breaking through the air; so fast that Li Fei had only just stepped onto the ring with one foot and his body had not yet fully stabilized when Chu Yu had already completed his sprint.

The match rules state that it begins when both parties stand on the ring, so Chu Yu used the rules to perfectly complete this preemptive strike!

The distance of over ten meters was crossed in an instant, and Chu Yu drew his blade abruptly when he was less than five meters away from Li Fei.

The next instant, a dazzling flame bloomed on the Dragon-Tiger Platform.

The scorching flame strength turned into a torrent, crashing toward Li Fei with an incomparably fierce momentum!

This is fire-attribute strength—Flame Flow Strength.

A martial artist practicing strength at the late stage of Qi Transformation can release strength externally, and Chu Yu wanted to use this advantage in realm to further shorten Li Fei's strength-release distance!

On a ring over ten meters wide, the strength-release distance is something that must be fought for every inch, otherwise, it is very easy to be knocked off the ring.

Chu Yu is one realm higher than Li Fei and can attack from a distance, occupying an advantage in strength-release distance; this is his confidence in certain victory!

When the flame torrent formed by the Flame Flow Strength crashed in front of him, Li Fei had just stabilized himself on the ring.

He was standing at the edge of the ring, and if he were pushed back one step, he would fall off.

"Hit!"

In Chu Yu's expectant eyes, the flame torrent crashed into Li Fei.

"Won!"

Chu Yu couldn't help but be overjoyed; he had already imagined the scene of Li Fei being knocked off in his mind.

His implant is the fire-attribute 【Cinder Blade】, second-grade low-tier, possessing two superhuman abilities: one is the common strength explosion, and the other is an instantaneous amplification of fire-attribute innate Qi and strength.

These two superhuman abilities, when used simultaneously, made Chu Yu's instantaneous explosive power very astonishing, far exceeding martial artists of the same realm!

So he was confident that this strike of his would definitely be able to knock Li Fei off the ring.

This is what is normal; he is one realm higher, and it is a match on such a ring, so there is no reason he would lose to a "newbie" who had just broken through a few days ago.

The next instant, golden light entered his eyes.

The brilliant golden light was like a Vajra wall that would never be destroyed, blocking the flame torrent.

The flame torrent crashed into this Vajra wall, like a surging flood crashing into a sturdy dam, instantly shattering, then flowing back and scattering.

Li Fei stood in place, raised the Ghost-Slaying Blade in his hand, and held it horizontally in front of him.

He didn't even draw his blade, just channeled his strength to protect his body, and blocked Chu Yu's attack.

"Vajra Strength?!"

On the fourth floor of one of the restaurants closest to the Dragon-Tiger Platform, by the window, Chu Bo, who was watching the battle, changed his expression.

When Li Fei broke through to the mid-stage of Qi Transformation, only Xu Jing saw it. Since then, he hadn't been to the arena in the past few days and hadn't fought anyone, so the outside world actually didn't know what kind of strength he had practiced, only guessing based on his implant and innate Qi.

But none of these guesses included Vajra Strength.

Among the top-tier strengths, Vajra Strength is not the most "sturdy," nor is it the most "sharp."

But whether in defense or offense, it can rank in the top three!

The top three of all strengths in the world!

This strength is the core strength of Buddhist martial arts, and all high-level inheritances are inseparable from it.

That is why Xu Jing said that if Li Fei were willing to become a monk at Pudu Temple, he might have a chance to compete for the position of Buddha's Son.

On the Dragon-Tiger Platform, Chu Yu didn't have time to think so much.

His momentum was already very fast, and when the flame torrent formed by the Flame Flow Strength was shattered, the blade in his hand had already slashed down.

With this slash, those shattered, back-flowing, and scattered strengths all re-condensed on the blade, with even greater momentum than before!

The powerful blade intent made the entire Dragon-Tiger Street become a bit more sweltering, and the people near the Dragon-Tiger Platform felt as if they were in a sea of fire, feeling that they were about to be roasted!

This was the killing move created by Chu Bo—Return to Ashes.

With a single slash, dust returns to dust, earth returns to earth, and everything is reduced to ashes!

Chu Bo's fame-making battle was when he used this move alone to slay a powerhouse at the Dao Foundation realm!

Under his meticulous guidance, Chu Yu has now mastered three-tenths of its essence.

It is more than enough to deal with an opponent at the Qi Transformation realm.

Clack—

Chu Yu slashed down with his blade, and Li Fei blocked horizontally with his own, simultaneously activating "Tyrant Body" to expand his physique.

The next second, the iron scabbard was slashed into pieces, revealing the Ghost Slaying Blade inside.

Immediately after, the brilliant Diamond Force and the surging Flame Flow Force collided.

Like surging waves crashing against a stone cliff that had stood for a thousand years, the scorching Flame Flow Force exploded once again.

Li Fei steadily caught this "Return to Ashes" move from Chu Yu!

Only then did Chu Yu begin to panic.

His greatest strength was his explosive power, yet after seizing the initiative by exploiting the rules, his most powerful wave of attacks hadn't even managed to shake Li Fei by half a step.

How was he supposed to fight from here?

After entering the "Tyrant Body" state, Li Fei was a head taller than Chu Yu; he looked down at his opponent, pushing his Ghost Slaying Blade forward horizontally as if pushing a mountain.

As this Mountain-Pushing Style was unleashed, the incredibly sturdy Diamond Force became peerlessly sharp, capable of piercing anything!

Just a moment ago, Li Fei was a Diamond Wall, capable of blocking all attacks.

Now he was a Diamond Drill, capable of breaking through all obstacles!

Clang—

A harsh metallic screech mixed with the sound of air being torn; Chu Yu was forced back by Li Fei's blade.

Unable to accept this result, he once again activated two extraordinary abilities simultaneously and slashed at Li Fei with "Return to Ashes" again.

This time he twisted his body, his form like lightning, his speed so fast that he created a sonic boom even while twisting.

Holding the blade with both hands, he slashed clockwise from left to right, the flames carving an arc in the air.

Li Fei did not retreat but advanced instead, holding the Ghost Slaying Blade with one hand and slashing diagonally toward the front right, striking the rear part of the opponent's blade just as the arc was only halfway formed.

Clang—

Brilliant golden light and dazzling flames illuminated each other; this time, Chu Yu's "Return to Ashes" was interrupted by Li Fei before he could even concentrate all his force into a single point for the explosion.

The Diamond Force was peerlessly sharp, cutting off the gathering torrent of flames!

"He found the flaw after watching me use Return to Ashes only once?!"

Chu Yu was astonished as he retreated.

He knew Li Fei possessed the extraordinary ability of "Danger Perception," but he did not know that under Hao Yi's guidance, this ability had become far more than just sensing danger.

In the restaurant, Chu Bo's expression was gloomy; he had already foreseen the final outcome.

On the Dragon-Tiger Platform, Li Fei forced Chu Yu back with two consecutive strikes.

By the time Chu Yu regained his composure and intended to engage in a mobile fight with Li Fei, his movement space had already been sealed off by Li Fei.

Facing an opponent capable of anticipating his moves, every time Chu Yu tried to change direction to break through, he was blocked by Li Fei in advance and then forced back by a blade strike.

After three consecutive times, Chu Yu was forced to the edge of the ring by Li Fei.

Li Fei slashed down, and Chu Yu blocked horizontally; the Flame Flow Force formed a waterfall in front of him—this was the Chu family's ultimate defensive move.

At the same time, Chu Yu channeled a portion of his force toward his feet, intending to dissipate the impact and dodge to one side.

Clang—

The golden blade light descended, and the force at Chu Yu's feet exploded simultaneously, but before he could dodge, the second blade light arrived, followed by the third.

Three-Fold Wave!

The three layers of overlapping Diamond Blade Force completely crushed Chu Yu's defense, severing the waterfall in front of him.

Bang!

Chu Yu was heavily knocked off the ring.

This highly anticipated duel: the pride of the Chu family's younger generation versus the most talented student in the history of the Martial University.

Less than a minute after the start, Chu Yu was defeated.

So what if he was one realm higher?

PS: Apologies, I've been tied up with trivial matters, which delayed the update. I should be finished with everything by tomorrow.

(End of chapter)